


Things Have Changed

by TheGoldenSnitch1228



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Modern AU, Mortal AU, idk dude, im bad at tags, roommate au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-12-01 19:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11493387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGoldenSnitch1228/pseuds/TheGoldenSnitch1228
Summary: In high school Nico di Angelo and Will Solace were best friends. But an unfortunate incident after graduation makes it too awkward for them to even speak.Due some housing complications three years later, they find themselves living together. These new living arrangement force them to address the intricacies of changed relationshipAKA the one where Nico needs a roommate and Will needs a room.





	1. Things Have Changed

**Author's Note:**

> GUESS WHO'S NOT DEAD, BITCHES. I HAVEN'T WRITTEN IN MONTHS BUT NOW I'M BACK, BABY!
> 
> (probably won't last long)

“You’re a traitor, Percy Jackson, a traitor.”

“Nico, all I’m doing is moving out.” Percy said, sealing a big cardboard box closed with packing tape.

“Jason already moved out last year! Do you expect me to live here alone?” Nico said, melodramatically flopping down on the couch. “I can’t afford rent on my own! I work as a waiter!”

“You could move into a new, smaller place.” Percy suggested.

“But everything is _here_! My stuff, the restaurant, Hazel, you guys are just moving downstairs! It’d be counterproductive to move.”

“You could always–”

“I am _not_ going to ask my father for money.” Nico cut him off. Percy sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Fine, then, find a new roommate.”

“I have no other friends.” Nico deadpanned, sitting up.

“First of all, untrue, we have the same friend group.” Percy crossed his arms, grinning. “Second of all there’s loads of people looking for a roommate online.”

“I’m not moving in with a complete stranger.”

“Who’s to say they have to be _complete_ stranger?” Nico groaned in response, taking out his phone. “I’m just saying. Check Facebook or something, an old acquaintance, an estranged family member, someone.”

“If I end up moving in with a murderer then it’s your fault.” Nico muttered, clicking the Facebook app, which he hadn’t opened in months. He lazily scrolled through the app.

“Don’t worry, Neeks, I’ll be just downstairs. I will protect you from serial killer roommates.” Percy clapped his hands on Nico’s shoulders dramatically.

“ _Thaaanks.”_ Nico muttered, not looking up from his phone. He sat there scrolling, having forgotten what he even opened the app for. Finally he happened upon a post that read “Looking for a roommate and a place to stay in the Manhattan area asap. Asshole landlord kicked me out.”

“Percy, I found someone looking for a roommate.” Nico said, clicking  on the person that posted it.

“Ooh! Who is it.” He asked, running to look over Nico’s shoulder.

“Will Solace.” Nico said. “No. Nope, absolutely not.”

“Why not? You guys were like best friend back in highschool!” Percy insisted.

“Yeah, but then he decided to study abroad first semester. Not to mention the whole _thing_ that happened after graduation. Everything got all awkward after that.” Nico said. “We haven’t spoken since we graduated high school, like, three years ago. He probably hates me.”

“C’mon dude, he needs a place to stay, you need a roommate, you both know each other. It’s perfect. I doubt he even remembers the whole graduation thing.” Percy laughed.

“It doesn’t seem like the kinda thing you forget.”

“Whatever, it’s been years dude.” Nico looked at his phone for a moment, trying to gauge the pros and cons, but then Percy swiped his phone out of his hands.

“Hey!”

“ _‘Hi, Will, I know it’s been a while, but I heard you were looking for a place to stay.’_ ” Percy read what he was typing aloud. Nico leaned over the edge of the couch in a fruitless attempt to grab his phone. But Percy's obnoxious height advantage made it easy to keep the phone far out of Nico's reach.

“Hey! Percy, you–! Stop–”

“ _‘My roommate is moving out and I was looking for a new one. You could move in with me if you need somewhere to stay. Just let me know and I can send you the address.’_ ” Percy finished. He turned around and handed the phone to Nico, who was rather precariously lent over the back of the couch.

“You are a horrible person.” He glared, taking his phone and putting it in his back pocket.

“You know you love me.” Percy grinned.

“I did, but, you know, we all like dumb things when we’re young.” Nico smirked. Percy glared, crossing his arms. He grabbed Nico by the collar of his sweatshirt and pulled down, sending Nico tumbling forward and onto the floor.

* * *

 

Nico spent the entire rest of the day anxiously glancing at his phone, waiting for a response. He’d already given up, assuming that Will still hated him, by the time he actually got a response. He was laying on his bed in a hoodie under about four blankets, about to doze off when his phone woke him. He jumped, almost falling out of his bed. He grabbed his phone off of his night stand. Nico blinked at the screen, trying to clear away the blur in his eyes. The time on his phone read “11:24 pm” and just below the time was a notification from Facebook. He swiped it and unlocked his phone to read the message he’d just received.

 

 **Will:** ‘Hey nico thatd be great actually!! sorry I couldn’t get back to you sooner I had classes and then work right after. maybe you could send me the address and I could come check the place out. preferably sooner rather than later I technically dont need to be out of this place until early next month but my landlord seems really antsy to get me out’

 **Nico:** ‘Okay, sure. I’m free all this weekend, so drop by whenever you can. Percy is only moving a floor down so he can be out almost immediately.”

 **Will:** ‘Ok ill stop buy this sunday at around noon. See you then, thanks again!!!!”

 

Nico typed out the address and locked his phone.

“ _Percy!_ ” Nico shouted, sitting up in his bed.

“Yeah?” Percy shouted back from the kitchen.

“How soon can you move out by?”

"I dunno, like a week."

"Okay, 'cause I think I have a new roommate, now."

* * *

 

That Sunday morning, Nico found himself more anxious than he should've been. He lamented to his sister, Hazel, about his anxieties, but she wasn't having it.

"Nico, you two were best friends for over _three_ years!" She reasoned with him.

"Yeah, but we haven't spoken since we were eighteen! What if he's totally different, for all I know he might have completely changed! For all I know he's given up on the whole doctor thing to become a chef?!" He said.

"Do you really think Will "Cooked Spaghetti in Oil" Solace would ditch his lifelong dream... to be a _chef?_ "

"I don't know, Hazel, my point is that it's been almost three years since we graduated, a lot can change in three years."  sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He noticed his fingers getting caught in the knots that plagued his hair and took that as a sign to brush his hair. "Besides, after graduation--"

"Nico, stop it with the whole graduation thing, it's been years. We've all grown up since then."  She interrupted him, rolling her eyes. "We all did dumb things when we were younger. Remember when you had a crush on Percy? Or when Leo almost set his mom’s shop on fire?"

"But that was when I was, like, ten, and Leo couldn't have been any older than eight when he did that." Nico grumbled. "We were eighteen, I don't think I get the same kind of 'young and dumb' excuse."

"Nico di Angelo, you are by far the most melodramatic person I know." Hazel laughed, messing up her brother's hair. "Why are you so hung up on this? You don't even know if he's actually going to move in."

"I dunno..."

"Nico, do you still--"

"No, Hazel it's not that. It's been years." Nico cut her off, but not making eye contact.

"Well, I don't know what to say to cheer you up, but I can say that if you're worried about impressing him, then you need to wake up. He knows _everything_ about you." Hazel smiled at him, grabbing his chin and shaking his head lightly.

"Hazel, it's not--"

"He's seen you naked, Nico. You have nothing to lose."

" _How do you know that?_ " Nico glared at her.

"You just told me." She laughed.


	2. Pretty Odd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are shaping up to be PRETTY ODD

“Do you have any food,” Hazel asked, getting up and moving to open Nico’s fridge. “Frank normally does the cooking, but he’s away on camp business.”

“Can’t you just order pizza?” Nico leaned backwards over the armrest of the couch so the upper half of his body hung down.

“Why waste money when you have food I can have?” Nico sighed and told her where she could find some leftover mac and cheese. She pulled open the plastic container and put it in the microwave to warm. She turned to look at Nico, laughing at her brother’s odd position. A loud buzz startled him, sending Nico toppling over onto the floor.

“Nico, are you alright?” Hazel asked, hurrying to his side. She helped him onto his feet, a look of concern painting her face. She held up four fingers.

“I’m fine, Hazel, honestly.” Nico said, blinking. He walked over to the intercom and pressed the button. “Hello?”

“Uh, hi. It’s Will. Will Solace?” A voice responded. He still sounded the same as the last time Nico heard him speak.

“Oh, yeah, hi. I’ll buzz you in.” Nico rubbed his eyes and moved back over to his couch. Hazel meanwhile was enjoying her macaroni and cheese. “Do you want fries with that?”

“If you have them, then most definitely.” She laughed. Nico rolled his eyes and threw a pillow at her as he got up to answer the knock at the door.

“Hi,” Will grinned when Nico opened the door.

“Hey, long time no see, huh.” Nico said. He gestured for him to enter. “You remember Hazel.”

“Hi!” She smiled and waved from where she sat, eating her food on the couch.

“Hey, Hazel.” Will said, awkwardly shoving his hands in his pockets as though he didn’t know what to do with them.

“I’ll go.” Hazel said, standing up. She moved over and kissed Nico on the cheek. “Bye, Nico. See you, Will!”

“Bye.” Nico and Will said at the same time. Hazel left, taking her lunch with her.

“You want me to show you around?” Will nodded. Nico brought him down the hall, pointing out the two bathrooms and the two bedrooms. “Jason and Percy used to share the bigger room, but neither of took their bed when they moved out, so you’d get two.”

“I get the bigger room?”

“Well duh?” Nico said, as if it were obvious. “My stuff is already all in the smaller room.”

“As if you actually have that much stuff.” Will scoffed.

“Hey, watch it, I could always just not let you move in.” Nico glared.

“But you need a roommate, so you won’t.” Will laughed. Nico knew he couldn’t refute that and just settled for making a face and staying silent. “How do you afford this place? It’s so nice!”

“Jason’s dad owns the building.”

“Pfft, I thought you never wanted to benefit from someone else’s wealth.” Will laughed.

“No, I never wanted to benefit from _my dad’s_ wealth. If Jason’s dad can get me a cheaper apartment, I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Nico grinned. Will chuckled and dropped down onto an armchair. Nico sat back on the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table. They were silent for a few moments, awkwardly tapping their fingers and looking around the room.

“So, how’ve you been, Nico?” Will broke the silence with a lopsided grin stretched across his face.

“I’ve managed. I’m working at my friend’s family resturant,I’ve got my bachelor's degree, and I’m going to go back for my masters in about a year.” Nico explained, letting his head fall back as he thought about what was going on in his life.

“What for?”

“Social work. I went into college thinking I was going to major in software design, but, uh, Jason’s girlfriend, Piper, was majoring in social work. She introduced me to the field and I ultimately ended up switching majors halfway through freshman year.” Nico explained. Will nodded along as he listened. He always did that.

When he was younger, Nico had an issue with being ignored, in that, if he got the idea that someone he was talking to wasn’t listening, he’d just stop talking. Will, unlike many people, always made it obvious that he was listening, so Nico found that he could just sit and talk with him for hours. Somehow that feeling never went away. “I was really excited to get my masters, but I had to take a break year for, uh, _medical reasons._ ”

“Doctors orders?” Will asked smiling sympathetically.

“Something like that, yeah…” Nico muttered. After a moment he snapped himself back into reality. “So, how’s life been treating you?”

“Good! I’m, uh, working in midtown, sorta near Times Square, but closer to Central Park.” Will tugged on his earlobe while he thought, and it was always his left ear, too. It was so strange to think that Will kept these tiny unique mannerisms over the past three years, despite having also changed so much. “I’m still in school, and I will for a while, what with getting my doctorate and specializing and stuff. My dumb landlord evicted me because I was ‘disturbing the other tenants’ but I think he just hated me. Otherwise, stuff’s cool”

“Pfft.”

“Soooo, you said you were still friends with Percy and Jason?” Will said, breaking yet another brief but painfully awkward silence. Nico nodded.

“They’re both traitorous assholes that moved out on me, but yeah.” He said. Will snickered. “But, honestly, they’re both great. As a warning, though, we’d spend almost every night playing video games. I’d kick their asses at Mario Kart, Percy would try to cheat, and Jason would end up turning off the TV. So if you do move in, be prepared to have your ass handed to you.”

“ _Sure.”_

“Do you honestly think you could beat me?” Nico scoffed. “I have won every game I’ve played since I was nineteen.”

“I think you just haven’t had a fit opponent.” Will smirked, crossing his arms. Nico raised an eyebrow, and without breaking eye contact, he took the Switch off the table and handed Will the blue controller. Will narrowed his eyes and took it.

“Prepare to lose, Solace.”

“I propose a wager.” Will said seriously. “If I win, you have to cook me a meal.”

“Pfft why?” Nico snickered, leaning back in his seat.

“If you’re as good a cook as you were four years ago then who wouldn’t want that?”

“Okay, then what do I get if I win?”

“You could ride my motorcycle.” Will shrugged, a smug look on his face that obviously said something along the lines of ‘Yeah, I ride a motorcycle. How cool am I?’

“Since when could you ride a motorcycle?”

“Freshman year of college.” Will said as he chose to play as Peach. “Cool, ain’t it?”

“Cool or not, there is not a thing that could get me on that metal death trap.” Nico said, choosing Toad. “If I win, I want you to let me teach you to cook.”

“So if I win, you cook, and if you win you cook again?” Will questioned.

“Shut up. If you move in, I don’t want to be constantly worried that you’ll burn the place down.”

“Ok, fine. It’s settled then. Prepare to lose.” Will muttered in arrogance. Nico was going to say something witty in response, but instead just chose a track and start the game.

Nico ended up winning by a hair on Rainbow Road. Upon winning he immediately shot to his feet, shouting in victory.

“ _Yes! Take that, Solace!_ ” Nico said triumphantly.

“Hey, c’mon everyone is bad at Rainbow Road! That doesn’t count! On a normal track I totally would’ve kicked your ass.” Will insisted, his arms crossed and his eyebrows knit.

“So, Will, what do you think? Spaghetti bolognese or penne vodka? Ooh, maybe some linguine with clam sauce.” Nico tapped his chin with his pointer finger in mock thought.

“If I wanted to I could just not move in and avoid the deal altogether.” Will muttered.

“Please, this place is huge, pre-furnished, and in the perfect location. Where are you going to find such a perfect apartment for so cheap.” Nico crossed his arms. Will made a face at him and sighed.

“Fine, but I swear I will train and I will beat you at Mario Kart.” Will laughed bitterly. Nico smirked triumphantly.

Things may not turn out to be as awkward as Nico predicted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know its weird that I'm posting at nearly midnight, but shut up. You don't know my life. I'm going to keep writing and you cant stop me. HA TAKE THAT.
> 
> PLEASE COMMENT. IF YOU DON'T I WILL D I E 
> 
> jk
> 
> but please

**Author's Note:**

> My dad's girlfriend's niece actually did that thing with the spaghetti. She's a super smart person too, and her mom was a great cook. Go figure.
> 
> The title is in fact a reference to That Green Gentleman by P!atd. Idk why but it reminds me of them, and I've been loving that song lately, soooooo. Each of the chapter titles will be a P!atd lyric too. For fun. So enjoy that.
> 
> I have no idea how Facebook works btw, I'm just a wee little sophomore that was like 8 when the Facebook craze happened. Now it's just the old person website.
> 
> LEAVE A COMMENT, PLEASE, I AM DESPERATE FOR ATTENTION. I THRIVE ON VALIDATION!!!!


End file.
